Prioritization of Process Improvement Measures in a Forging Process Using an IPF-AHP-Based SREM Framework

Forging represents a very important process in the metal processing industry, for which risk analysis and continuous improvement activities are required in order to satisfy customer requirements regarding product quality and mechanical properties. In practice, Process Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (PFMEA) is used for risk identification and assessment. However, since this analysis provides only recommended process improvement measures as an output, without prioritizing them according to technical, economic, and operational aspects, this study develops a Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) approach based on the integration of the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and the Square-Root-Based Evaluation Method (SREM), extended through the application of Interval-Valued Pythagorean Fuzzy Numbers (IVPFNs) to model uncertainty in the assessments of the expert team. In this way, a decision-making framework was developed that enables the prioritization of process improvement measures identified through PFMEA in an exact and mathematically based manner. The proposed approach was tested through a case study conducted in a company primarily engaged in the production of forgings as a supplier to various industrial sectors. A total of six process improvement measures were considered and evaluated with respect to seven technical, economic, and operational criteria. The results of the study clearly demonstrated that the additional die-leading measure ranked first and represented the most stable solution, maintaining its leading position regardless of the changes introduced through the sensitivity analysis.